The preparation for the United mechanics negotiations continues but is mostly complete. Many information requests from the company have been met, proposals are close to finalization and the Seniority Integration Committee is almost ready to make it's recommendations to the Negotiating Committee. All of this preparation will lead to a great agreement in my opinion. Many thanks to all of those who've put in many hours and spent time away from families to get ready for these negotiations.
I look forward to January and the beginning of talks that will put all three agreements together.
The Chief Steward calls will resume in January because the remaining Mondays are Christmas Eve followed by New Years Eve. This call has become a great communications tool that has led to resolution of several systemwide problems. It seems going in to the new year that the inspection department on the sUA side will continue to be a big issue. Dan Stunda from IAH and Mike Pecorraro from ORD are taking the lead on this. The staffing of bid area 301 will become an issue at the table if it is not resolved quickly. The advise I would give to those that see issues with 301 are to file grievances. Grievances are an excellent way to track and document problems. This documentation is often needed when trying to resolve systemwide problems as issues that are reduced to writing show patterns that help to resolve contractual violations at the lower levels of the process. Ultimately if these issues are elevated to arbitration that documentation helps the arbitrator to understand our position. This leads to another point and something I learned early on "treat every grievance like it will go to arbitration". Well thought out grievances are the ones that prevail.
For me, I'm working on reports today to finish up the year. After I finish either today or early tomorrow I plan to spend some much needed time with my family. They tend to get neglected with this schedule as I'm sure you can imagine.
I know that this greeting is a couple of days early but as I'm winding
down for the holidays I wanted to express my desire that you and your
families have a Merry Christmas and a Happy and prosperous New Year. It is my hope that you will be able to
enjoy this time with friends and family.
